The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has assured Nigerians of availability of petroleum products across the country during the yuletide.
IPMAN’s President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos while reacting to resurfacing of fuel queues in some parts of the country.
Okoronkwo, however, appealed to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to hasten the payment of billions of Naira to marketers as bridging cost.
He said: “We want to assure Nigerians that we are ready to cooperate with the government to ensure that there is hitch-free supply of petroleum products across the country during this yuletide and beyond.
“IPMAN is calling on the NMDPRA to hasten the payment of bridging debts owed to marketers by the defunct Petroleum Equalisation Fund ( PEF) to enable seamless operations in the industry.”
Mr. Okoronkwo noted that the bridging payment was necessary to encourage marketers to transport petrol from the depot to other depots that are experiencing supply shortfall due to distance.
He said the NMDPRA which took over from PEF had assured the marketers of the payments following a series of meetings over the issue.
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